MiniTAO/MAX38 first light: 30-micron band observations from the ground-based telescope

Tomohiko Nakamura; Takashi Miyata; Shigeyuki Sako; Kentaro Asano; Mizuho Uchiyama; Toshihiko Tanabe; Mizuki Yoneda; Yoshifusa Ita; Takashi Onaka; Hirokazu Kataza; Tsutomu Aoki; Mamoru Doi; Toshihiro Handa; Daisuke Kato; Kimiaki Kawara; Kotaro Kohno; Masahiro Konishi; Shintaro Koshida; Takeo Minezaki; Natsuko Mitani; Kentaro Motohara; Ryo Ohsawa; Takao Soyano; Masuo Tanaka; Ken'ichi Tarusawa; Koji Toshikawa; Yuzuru Yoshii

doi:10.1117/12.856228

20 July 2010 MiniTAO/MAX38 first light: 30-micron band observations from the ground-based telescope

Tomohiko Nakamura, Takashi Miyata, Shigeyuki Sako, Kentaro Asano, Mizuho Uchiyama, Toshihiko Tanabe, Mizuki Yoneda, Yoshifusa Ita, Takashi Onaka, Hirokazu Kataza, Tsutomu Aoki, Mamoru Doi, Toshihiro Handa, Daisuke Kato, Kimiaki Kawara, Kotaro Kohno, Masahiro Konishi, Shintaro Koshida, Takeo Minezaki, Natsuko Mitani, Kentaro Motohara, Ryo Ohsawa, Takao Soyano, Masuo Tanaka, Ken'ichi Tarusawa, Koji Toshikawa, Yuzuru Yoshii

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7735, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy III; 773561 (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.856228
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2010, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

We successfully carried out 30-micron observations from the ground-based telescope for the first time with our newly developed mid-infrared instrument, MAX38, which is mounted on the University of Tokyo Atacama 1.0-m telescope (miniTAO telescope). Thanks to the high altitude of the miniTAO (5,640m) and dry weather condition of the Atacama site, we can access the 30-micron wavelength region from ground-based telescopes. To achieve the observation at 30- micron wavelength, remarkable devices are employed in MAX38. First, a Si:Sb 128x128 array detector is installed which can detect long mid-infrared light up to 38-micron. Second, we developed metal mesh filters for 30-micron region band-pass filter, which are composed of several gold thin-films with cross-shaped holes. Third, a cold chopper, a 6-cm square plane mirror controlled by a piezoelectric actuator, is built into the MAX38 optics for canceling out the atmospheric turbulence noise. It enables square-wave chopping with a 50-arcsecound throw at a frequency more than 5- Hz. Finally, a low-dispersion grism spectrometer (R~50) will provide information on the transmission spectrum of the terrestrial atmosphere in 20 to 40 micron. In this observation, we clearly demonstrated that the atmospheric windows around 30-micron can be used for the astronomical observations at the miniTAO site.

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Tomohiko Nakamura, Takashi Miyata, Shigeyuki Sako, Kentaro Asano, Mizuho Uchiyama, Toshihiko Tanabe, Mizuki Yoneda, Yoshifusa Ita, Takashi Onaka, Hirokazu Kataza, Tsutomu Aoki, Mamoru Doi, Toshihiro Handa, Daisuke Kato, Kimiaki Kawara, Kotaro Kohno, Masahiro Konishi, Shintaro Koshida, Takeo Minezaki, Natsuko Mitani, Kentaro Motohara, Ryo Ohsawa, Takao Soyano, Masuo Tanaka, Ken'ichi Tarusawa, Koji Toshikawa, and Yuzuru Yoshii "MiniTAO/MAX38 first light: 30-micron band observations from the ground-based telescope", Proc. SPIE 7735, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy III, 773561 (20 July 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.856228

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